Scientific Engineering

Scientific Engineering is committed to maintaining an accurate, transparent and trustworthy scholarly record. Its policies are informed by recognised principles of publication ethics and transparency, including guidance developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. This statement does not imply organisational membership unless separately confirmed.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made on academic and ethical grounds. IAOA projects, institutional partnerships, events, sponsorship, membership, donations, advertising, author services or other relationships do not guarantee publication and must not influence manuscript decisions.

Originality and Duplicate Submission

Submitted work must be original and must not be under consideration by another journal. Authors must disclose preprints, conference versions, proceedings papers, reports or other prior dissemination. Substantial overlap, redundant publication and undisclosed duplicate submission are not permitted.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made a meaningful contribution, approved the submitted version and accept accountability for their contribution. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors agree to submission. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with permission. Authorship changes require a written explanation and agreement from all affected authors.

Plagiarism, Citation Manipulation and Paper-Mill Activity

The journal may use similarity checking and other editorial checks. Plagiarism, fabricated references, citation manipulation, sale or purchase of authorship, falsified peer review and submission through paper mills are prohibited. Similarity scores are interpreted by editors and are not used as the sole basis for a decision.

Data, Images and Research Integrity

Fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation and misleading selective reporting are prohibited. Authors should retain original data and provide it for editorial examination when reasonably requested. Image adjustments must not obscure, remove or introduce information.

Research Involving Humans, Animals or Sensitive Data

Authors must comply with applicable laws, institutional requirements and accepted ethical standards. Relevant approval, consent, registration or permit information must be reported. Identifiable personal information or images require appropriate consent for publication. When approval was not required, authors should explain the basis.

Competing Interests and Funding

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work or its assessment. Funding sources and the role of funders must be stated. A conflict does not automatically prevent publication, but it must be managed transparently.

Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors should describe where supporting data, code, protocols or materials can be found. When access is restricted for privacy, security, legal, commercial or ethical reasons, the restriction should be explained. Engineering results should be reported with sufficient detail to support evaluation and, where possible, replication.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the work. Authors remain accountable for accuracy, originality, citations, permissions and confidentiality. Material use of generative AI or similar tools in writing, analysis, coding, image creation or translation must be disclosed. Fabricated content or references generated by AI remain the authors’ responsibility.

Reviewer and Editor Conduct

Reviewers and editors must treat manuscripts as confidential, provide objective and respectful assessment, disclose conflicts and avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage. Editors must not handle submissions where they cannot act independently.

Soundness, Relevance and Research Diversity

The journal evaluates manuscripts for technical and methodological soundness, clarity, ethical compliance, relevance to scope and contribution to engineering knowledge or practice. A manuscript is not rejected solely because its topic is specialised, its results are negative, it reports a justified replication or its value is primarily contextual. Such work must still meet the journal’s standards and explain its contribution.

Corrections, Retractions and Post-Publication Updates

The journal will correct the scholarly record when reliable errors are identified. Minor errors may be addressed through a correction notice. Retraction or withdrawal may be considered when findings are unreliable, misconduct has occurred, publication is redundant, ethical requirements were seriously breached or legal rights are affected. Notices will be linked to the affected article and will explain the reason while avoiding defamatory language. Published articles will not be silently removed or replaced.

Complaints and Appeals

Concerns about editorial process, ethics or published content may be sent to se@iaoalliance.org. Complaints will be acknowledged, documented and reviewed by an appropriate editor or publisher representative who is not directly conflicted. Authors may appeal editorial decisions by identifying a material factual or procedural error.

Suspected Misconduct

When credible concerns arise, the journal may request explanations or underlying material, pause review or publication, contact authors’ institutions or funders where appropriate, and issue corrections, expressions of concern or retractions. The journal will seek evidence and allow affected parties a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Special Issues and Conference-Related Content

Special issues, project-linked submissions and conference-related manuscripts are subject to the journal’s scope, ethics and peer-review policies. Organisers, sponsors, partner institutions and guest editors cannot guarantee acceptance or override the final editorial decision.